General Characteristics of the Renaissance

"Renaissance" literally means "rebirth." It refers especially to the rebirth of learning that began in Italy in the fourteenth century, spread to the north, including England, by the sixteenth century, and ended in the north in the mid-seventeenth century (earlier in Italy). uring this period, there !as an enormous rene!al of interest in and study of classical anti"uity. #et the Renaissance !as more than a "rebirth." It !as also an age of ne! discoveries, both geographical (exploration of the $e! %orld) and intellectual. &oth 'inds of discovery resulted in changes of tremendous import for %estern civili(ation. In science, for example, )opernicus (*+,--*.+-) attempted to prove that the sun rather than the earth !as at the center of the planetary system, thus radically altering the cosmic !orld vie! that had dominated anti"uity and the /iddle 0ges. In religion, /artin 1uther (*+2--*.+3) challenged and ultimately caused the division of one of the ma4or institutions that had united Europe throughout the /iddle 0ges--the )hurch. In fact, Renaissance thin'ers often thought of themselves as ushering in the modern age, as distinct from the ancient and medieval eras. 5tudy of the Renaissance might !ell center on five interrelated issues. 6irst, although Renaissance thin'ers often tried to associate themselves !ith classical anti"uity and to dissociate themselves from the /iddle 0ges, important continuities !ith their recent past, such as belief in the 7reat )hain of &eing, !ere still much in evidence. 5econd, during this period, certain significant political changes !ere ta'ing place. 8hird, some of the noblest ideals of the period !ere best expressed by the movement 'no!n as 9umanism. 6ourth, and connected to 9umanist ideals, !as the literary doctrine of "imitation," important for its ideas about ho! literary !or's should be created. 6inally, !hat later probably became an even more far-reaching influence, both on literary creation and on modern life in general, !as the religious movement 'no!n as the Reformation. Renaissance thin'ers strongly associated themselves !ith the values of classical anti"uity, particularly as expressed in the ne!ly rediscovered classics of literature, history, and moral philosophy. )onversely, they tended to dissociate themselves from !or's !ritten in the /iddle 0ges, a historical period they loo'ed upon rather negatively. 0ccording to them, the /iddle 0ges !ere set in the "middle" of t!o much more valuable historical periods, anti"uity and their o!n. $evertheless, as modern scholars have noted, extremely important continuities !ith the previous age still existed.

The Great Chain of Being

0mong the most important of the continuities !ith the )lassical period !as the concept of the 7reat )hain of &eing. Its ma4or premise !as that every existing thing in the universe had its "place" in a divinely planned hierarchical order, !hich !as pictured as a chain vertically extended. ("9ierarchical" refers to an order based on a series of higher and lo!er, strictly ran'ed gradations.) 0n ob4ect:s "place" depended on the relative proportion of "spirit" and "matter" it contained--the less "spirit" and the more "matter," the lo!er do!n it stood. 0t the bottom, for example, stood various types of inanimate ob4ects, such as metals, stones, and the four elements (earth, !ater, air, fire). 9igher up !ere various members of the vegetative class, li'e trees and flo!ers. 8hen came animals; then humans; and then angels. 0t the very top !as 7od. 8hen !ithin each of these large groups, there !ere other hierarchies. 6or example, among metals, gold !as the noblest and stood highest; lead had less "spirit" and

more matter and so stood lo!er. (0lchemy !as based on the belief that lead could be changed to gold through an infusion of "spirit.") 8he various species of plants, animals, humans, and angels !ere similarly ran'ed from lo! to high !ithin their respective segments. 6inally, it !as believed that bet!een the segments themselves, there !as continuity (shellfish !ere lo!est among animals and shaded into the vegetative class, for example, because !ithout locomotion, they most resembled plants). &esides universal orderliness, there !as universal interdependence. 8his !as implicit in the doctrine of "correspondences," !hich held that different segments of the chain reflected other segments. 6or example, Renaissance thin'ers vie!ed a human being as a microcosm (literally, a "little !orld") that reflected the structure of the !orld as a !hole, the macrocosm; 4ust as the !orld !as composed of four "elements" (earth, !ater, air, fire), so too !as the human body composed of four substances called "humours," !ith characteristics corresponding to the four elements. (Illness occurred !hen there !as an imbalance or "disorder" among the humours, that is, !hen they did not exist in proper proportion to each other.) ")orrespondences" existed every!here, on many levels. 8hus the hierarchical organi(ation of the mental faculties !as also thought of as reflecting the hierarchical order !ithin the family, the state, and the forces of nature. %hen things !ere properly ordered, reason ruled the emotions, 4ust as a 'ing ruled his sub4ects, the parent ruled the child, and the sun governed the planets. &ut !hen disorder !as present in one realm, it !as correspondingly reflected in other realms. 6or example, in 5ha'espeare:s King Lear, the simultaneous disorder in family relationships and in the state (child ruling parent, sub4ect ruling 'ing) is reflected in the disorder of 1ear:s mind (the loss of reason) as !ell as in the disorder of nature (the raging storm). 1ear even e"uates his loss of reason to "a tempest in my mind." 8hough Renaissance !riters seemed to be "uite on the side of "order," the theme of "disorder" is much in evidence, suggesting that the age may have been experiencing some gro!ing discomfort !ith traditional hierarchies. 0ccording to the chain of being concept, all existing things have their precise place and function in the universe, and to depart from one:s proper place !as to betray one:s nature. 9uman beings, for example, !ere pictured as placed bet!een the beasts and the angels. 8o act against human nature by not allo!ing reason to rule the emotions--!as to descend to the level of the beasts. In the other direction, to attempt to go above one:s proper place, as Eve did !hen she !as tempted by 5atan, !as to court disaster. #et Renaissance !riters at times sho!ed ambivalence to!ards such a rigidly organi(ed universe. 6or example, the Italian philosopher <ico della /irandola, in a !or' entitled On the Dignity of Man, exalted human beings as capable of rising to the level of the angels through philosophical contemplation. 0lso, some Renaissance !riters !ere fascinated by the thought of going beyond boundaries set by the chain of being. 0 ma4or example !as the title character of )hristopher /arlo!e:s play Doctor Faustus. 5imultaneously displaying the grand spirit of human aspiration and the more "uestionable hunger for superhuman po!ers, 6austus seems in the play to be both exalted and punished. /arlo!e:s drama, in fact, has often been seen as the embodiment of Renaissance ambiguity in this regard, suggesting both its fear of and its fascination !ith pushing beyond human limitations.

Political Implications of the Chain of Being

8he fear of "disorder" !as not merely philosophical--it had significant political ramifications. 8he proscription against trying to rise beyond one:s place !as of course useful to political rulers, for it helped to reinforce their authority. 8he implication !as that civil rebellion caused the chain to be bro'en, and according to the doctrine of correspondences, this

!ould have dire conse"uences in other realms. It !as a sin against 7od, at least !herever rulers claimed to rule by " ivine Right." (0nd in England, the =ing !as also the head of the 0nglican )hurch.) In 5ha'espeare, it !as suggested that the sin !as of cosmic proportions> civil disorders !ere often accompanied by meteoric disturbances in the heavens. (&efore 9alley:s theory about periodic orbits, comets, as !ell as meteors, !ere thought to be disorderly heavenly bodies.) 8he need for strong political rule !as in fact very significant, for the Renaissance had brought an end for the most part to feudalism, the medieval form of political organi(ation. 8he ma4or political accomplishment of the Renaissance, perhaps, !as the establishment of effective central government, not only in the north but in the south as !ell. $orthern Europe sa! the rise of national monarchies headed by 'ings, especially in England and 6rance. Italy sa! the rise of the territorial city-state often headed by !ealthy oligarchic families. $ot only did the chain of being concept provide a rationale for the authority of such rulers; it also suggested that there !as ideal behavior that !as appropriate to their place in the order of things. It is no !onder then that much Renaissance literature is concerned !ith the ideals of 'ingship, !ith the character and behavior of rulers, as in /achiavelli:s Prince or 5ha'espeare:s Henry V. ?ther ideals and values that !ere represented in the literature !ere even more significant. It !as the intellectual movement 'no!n as 9umanism that may have expressed most fully the values of the Renaissance and made a lasting contribution to our o!n culture.

Humanism
0 common oversimplification of 9umanism suggests that it gave rene!ed emphasis to life in this !orld instead of to the other!orldly, spiritual life associated !ith the /iddle 0ges. ?versimplified as it is, there is nevertheless truth to the idea that Renaissance 9umanists placed great emphasis upon the dignity of man and upon the expanded possibilities of human life in this !orld. 6or the most part, it regarded human beings as social creatures !ho could create meaningful lives only in association !ith other social beings. In the terms used in the Renaissance itself, 9umanism represented a shift from the "contemplative life" to the "active life." In the /iddle 0ges, great value had often been attached to the life of contemplation and religious devotion, a!ay from the !orld (though this ideal applied to only a small number of people). In the Renaissance, the highest cultural values !ere usually associated !ith active involvement in public life, in moral, political, and military action, and in service to the state. ?f course, the traditional religious values coexisted !ith the ne! secular values; in fact, some of the most important 9umanists, li'e Erasmus, !ere )hurchmen. 0lso, individual achievement, breadth of 'no!ledge, and personal aspiration (as personified by octor 6austus) !ere valued. 8he concept of the "Renaissance /an" refers to an individual !ho, in addition to participating actively in the affairs of public life, possesses 'no!ledge of and s'ill in many sub4ect areas. (5uch figures included 1eonardo a @inci and Aohn /ilton, as !ell as 6rancis &acon, !ho had declared, "I have ta'en all 'no!ledge to be my province.") $evertheless, individual aspiration !as not the ma4or concern of Renaissance 9umanists, !ho focused rather on teaching people ho! to participate in and rule a society (though only the nobility and some members of the middle class !ere included in this ideal). ?verall, in consciously attempting to revive the thought and culture of classical anti"uity, perhaps the most important value the 9umanists extracted from their studies of classical literature, history, and moral philosophy !as the social nature of humanity.

"Imitation"
0nother concept derived from the classical past (though it !as present in the /iddle 0ges too), !as the literary doctrine of "imitation." ?f the t!o senses in !hich the term had traditionally been used, the theoretical emphasis of Renaissance literary critics !as less on the "imitation" that meant "mirroring life" and more on the "imitation" that meant "follo!ing predecessors." In contrast to our o!n emphasis on "originality," the goal !as not to create something entirely ne!. 8o a great extent, contemporary critics believed that the great literary !or's expressing definitive moral values had already been !ritten in classical anti"uity. 8heoretically, then, it !as the tas' of the !riter to translate for present readers the moral vision of the past, and they !ere to do this by "imitating" great !or's, adapting them to a )hristian perspective and milieu. (%riters of the /iddle 0ges also practiced "imitation" in this sense, but did not have as many classical models to !or' from.) ?f course Renaissance literary critics made it clear that such "imitation" !as to be neither mechanical nor complete> !riters !ere to capture the spirit of the originals, mastering the best models, learning from them, then using them for their o!n purposes. $evertheless, despite the fact that there !ere a great many comments by critics about "imitation" in this sense, it !as not the predominant practice of many of the greatest !riters. 6or them, the faithful depiction of human behavior-!hat 5ha'espeare called holding the mirror up to nature--!as paramount, and therefore "imitation" in the mimetic sense !as more often the common practice. 8he doctrine of "imitation" of ancient authors did have one very important effect> since it recommended not only the imitation of specific classical !riters, but also the imitation of classical genres, there !as a revival of significant literary forms. 0mong the most popular that !ere derived from anti"uity !ere epic and satire. Even more important !ere the dramatic genres of comedy and tragedy. In fact, Europe at this time experienced a golden age of theater, led by great dramatists such as 5ha'espeare.

The Protestant Reformation

6inally, as it developed during the Renaissance, the <rotestant Reformation !as a movement that had profound implications, not only for the modern !orld in general, but specifically for literary history. Aust as Renaissance 9umanists re4ected medieval learning, the Reformation seemed to re4ect the medieval form of )hristianity. (It should be noted, ho!ever, that both )atholics and <rotestants !ere 9umanists, though often !ith different emphases.) In the early sixteenth century, the 7erman mon' /artin 1uther reacted against )hurch corruption, the sort depicted, for example, by )haucer in the Canterbury Tales. /any )atholics li'e Erasmus !anted to reform the )hurch from !ithin. 9o!ever, 1uther:s disagreements !ith )hurch policy ultimately led him to challenge some of the most fundamental doctrines of the )hurch, !hich in turn led him and his follo!ers to brea' a!ay from the )atholic )hurch in protest; hence they !ere 'no!n as <rotestants. 8he Reformation had significant political ramifications, for it split Europe into <rotestant and )atholic countries !hich often !ent to !ar !ith each other during this period. <rotestantism bro'e up the institution that had for so long unified all Europe under the <ope (though there !ere also national struggles !ith the <apacy that had little to do !ith <rotestantism). 0mong the most important tenets of <rotestantism !as the re4ection of the <ope as spiritual leader. 0 closely related <rotestant doctrine !as the re4ection of the authority of the )hurch and its priests to mediate bet!een human beings and 7od. <rotestants believed that

the )hurch as an institution could not grant salvation; only through a direct personal relationship !ith 7od--achieved by reading the &ible--could the believer be granted such. /any scholars argue that this emphasis on a personal, individual connection !ith 7od spa!ned the modern emphasis on individualism in those cultures affected by <rotestantism. ?n the other hand, some <rotestants also believed that after the 6all of 0dam in Eden, human nature !as totally corrupted as far as human spiritual capabilities !ere concerned. (Early <rotestantism:s emphasis on human depravity distinguishes it sharply from Renaissance 9umanism.) 9umans therefore are incapable of contributing to their salvation, for instance through good deeds; it could only be achieved through faith in 7od:s grace. ?verall, there is a good deal of ambivalence regarding many of the <rotestant positions, and in fact the disagreement among the many )hristian sects may be precisely !hat distinguishes Renaissance from /edieval religion. 5ee> http>BBacademic.broo'lyn.cuny.eduBenglishB

Early modern theatre

*. rama &efore 8heatres

%hen Eli(abeth I came to the throne in *..2 there !ere no specially designed theatre buildings in England. )ompanies of actors toured the country and performed in a !ide variety of temporary acting spaces, sometimes building stages and scenery for a particular series of performances, and sometimes simply using an unaltered hall or open space. 8here are records of actors performing in churches, in the great halls of Royal <alaces and other great houses, in Inn #ards, in 8o!n 9alls, in 8o!n 5"uares and any!here else that a large cro!d could be gathered to vie! a performance. 0cting companies !ere usually small and mobile. Records suggest that an average touring company consisted of five to eight players, often consisting of four adult men and a single boy to play all the female parts. 0lthough !e are mostly concerned !ith the larger companies that inhabited the large theatre buildings that !ere built later in Eli(abethCs reign, touring companies of this 'ind (using temporary acting spaces throughout the country) continued to perform throughout Eli(abethCs reign, and even the ma4or companies could be forced to tour to the <rovinces !hen <lague shut the 1ondon theatres or money !as lo!. 5oon after Eli(abeth came to the throne la!s began to be passed to control !andering beggars and vagrants. 8hese made criminals of any actors !ho toured and performed !ithout the support of a member of the highest ran's of the nobility. /any actors !ere driven out of the profession or criminalised, !hile those !ho continued !ere forced to become officially servants to 1ords and 1adies of the realm. 8ouring !as increasingly discouraged and many of the remaining companies !ere encouraged to settle do!n !ith permanent bases in 1ondon. 8he first permanent theatres in England !ere old inns !hich had been used as temporary acting areas !hen the companies had been touring - the )ross =eys, the &ull, the &el 5avage and the &ell !ere all originally built as inns. 5ome of the Inns that became theatres had substantial alterations made to their structure to allo! them to be used as playhouses. 8he Red 1ion in 5tepney, in particular, had a rough auditorium !ith scaffolding galleries built around the stage area - a design that may have influenced the building of later purpose built theatres such as the 8heatre and the 7lobe.

D. 8he 6irst 8heatre

8he first purpose built 8heatre building in England - originally and solely intended for performance - !as called E8he 8heatreF, eventually giving its name to all such buildings. It !as built in *.,3 by the Earl of 1eicesterCs <layers !ho !ere led by Aames &urbage - a carpenter turned actor. 8he design of the 8heatre !as based on that of bull baiting and bear baiting yards (!here cro!ds of spectators !atched animals torn to pieces for sport) !hich had sometimes been used by actors as convenient performance venues in the past. $ot much is 'no!n about the design of the 8heatre, but it appears to have been !ooden and polygonal (!ith many straight sides ma'ing up a rough circle of !alls) and may have had three galleries full of seating stac'ed one above another. 8he main area of the theatre !as open to the s'y, !ith a large yard for spectators to stand and !atch the action if they could not afford a seat. In *.GG &urbageCs sons became involved in a dispute over the land on !hich the 8heatre stood and solved their problems by secretly and suddenly tearing do!n the 8heatre building and carrying a!ay the timbers to build a ne! playhouse on the &an'side, !hich they named 8he 7lobe. &y this time the &urbages had become members of the 1ord )hamberlainCs )ompany, along !ith %illiam 5ha'espeare, and the 7lobe is famously remembered as the theatre in !hich many of 5ha'espeareCs plays !ere first performed. 0lthough the 7lobe is the most famous Eli(abethan 8heatre, and the building !hich !e !ill concentrate upon, there !ere many other theatres built during this period - each one different from the others in the !ay in !hich it !as designed and built. 8he theatres fell into t!o main types, ho!ever, the EpublicF amphitheatre buildings (such as the 8heatre, the 7lobe, the )urtain and the 5!an) !hich !ere open to the air, and the smaller and more expensive EprivateF theatres (such as &lac'friars and the )oc'pit) !hich !ere built to a hall design in enclosed and usually rectangular buildings more li'e the theatres !e 'no! today. 8he private theatres had a more exclusive audience since they charged considerably more - the cheapest seat in a private theatre cost sixpence, !hile public theatres li'e the 7lobe charged t!opence for a seat in the galleries or a single penny to stand in the yard. 8he adult companies did not start to use the private hall theatres until after Eli(abethCs death - !hich technically puts them beyond our consideration of Eli(abethan 8heatre - but they !ere used by the boy companies (made up entirely of child and teenage actors) in Eli(abethCs reign and !ere used by 5ha'espeareCs )ompany - by this time the =ingCs /en - and other adult companies in the Aacobean period, so !e !ill consider them in passing.

-. 8he 7lobe
8he original 7lobe 8heatre !as built in *.GG !ith a thatched roof above the galleries (covering the seats> the yard - !here poorer spectators stood - !as still open to the air). 8his roof caught fire in *3*- !hen cannon fired off during a performance of 5ha'espeareCs Henry VIII sent spar's into the thatch and the !hole theatre burned to the ground. 0 second 7lobe !as built !ith a tiled roof, and this !as finally demolished in *3++ !hen all plays had been banned by the Roundhead <arliament during the )ivil %ar. In modern times several replica 7lobe 8heatres have been built around the !orld, including the ne! 5ha'espeareCs 7lobe 8heatre in 1ondon, !hich !as completed in *GG,. 0lthough the modern 7lobe 8heatre is an inexact imitation of the real 7lobe - !ith many of its characteristics based on guess!or', and others altered to pass modern fire regulations and accommodate a modern audience (taller, fatter and expecting more luxurious surroundings than their Eli(abethan ancestors) - the design, building and use of the ne! 7lobe has given much useful information about ho! an Eli(abethan 8heatre !or's and ho! it affects the performances of actors !ho use such a stage.

8he si(e and exact shape of the original 7lobe can only really be guessed at, but surviving records about the 7lobe and other Eli(abethan theatres (including some very rough dra!ings of the outside of the 7lobe in dra!ings of the city) together !ith archaeological examination of parts of the 7lobeCs remains (most of !hich are unfortunately buried under modern 1ondon buildings and cannot be examined) have allo!ed the people !ho built the modern 7lobe 8heatre reconstruction to ma'e !hat they hope is a faithful reproduction of the original theatre. 8he modern 7lobe is a hundred feet (-H metres) in diameter. Instead of being circular, as some early scholars believed it to be, the building is a polygon !ith DH straight !alls. 8here are three layers of seating in galleries on all sides of the stage except directly behind it. irectly in front of the stage is a large yard nearly 2H feet (D+ metres) in diameter for the groundlings (standing spectators !ho pay a cheaper entry price than those !ho have seats). 8he stage itself is unusually !ide by modern standards - ++ feet (*-.D metres) !ide, D. feet (,.. metres) deep, and . feet (*.. metres) high. 8here is roofing over the gallery seating and over the stage itself, the stage roof being held up by t!o huge pillars that stand on the stage - obstructing the vie! of audience members from various angles - but the yard is open to the air. &ehind the stage there is a curtained Ediscovery spaceF - a small room behind a curtain - !hich allo!s characters to be suddenly revealed by opening the curtain (as 6erdinand and /iranda are suddenly revealed in 5ha'espeareCs The Tempest, playing chess). 8here are t!o other entrances in the upstage !all, on the left and right. &ehind the entrances is the tiring house, for actors to dress, prepare and !ait offstage. 8here is a balcony above the stage !hich !as sometimes used in the performance (it !as probably AulietCs balcony in omeo an! "uliet), sometimes housed the theatre musicians and !as sometimes used for more audience seating. 8here is a trapdoor in the centre of the stage and the Eli(abethans had simple machinery to allo! ghosts, devils and similar characters to be raised up through the trapdoor and gods and spirits to be lo!ered from the EheavensF in the stage roof. @isiting the reconstructed 7lobe is a magical experience, but it is important to remember that it does not exactly resemble the conditions of the original theatre. 8he modern 7lobe can hold *.HH spectators> the original 7lobe (!hich had smaller and less comfortable visitors) pac'ed t!ice as many people into the same space. /odern fire regulations force the modern 7lobe to have four six foot !ide entrances. 8he original 7lobe had only t!o narro! door!ays. 5imilarly the modern irectors did not li'e the original positioning of the t!o obstructive stage pillars and insisted that they should be further bac' on the stage and closer together than the architects, builders and historians thought they really should have been. 8he modern reconstructed stage is designed to allo! t!o columns of soldiers to march abreast in front of the stage pillars. 8he pillars in the original theatre !ere probably further apart and much closer to the front of the stage, restricting the number of actors passing in front of the pillars and causing more fre"uent obstructions to audience sightlines.

+. 8he <layers
8he number and type of actor involved in Eli(abethan 8heatre varied from one performance to the next, but there !ere invariably many more parts than actors. 8he 1ondon companies !ith their fixed theatres tended to use many more actors than the touring companies !e considered earlier. In a performance of 5ha'espeareCs "ulius Caesar, for example, a spectator remembered that he had seen Eabout fifteenF actors perform the play. 8here are +H named roles in "ulius Caesar along !ith an unspecified number of extra E<lebeiansF and E5enators, 7uards, 0ttendants etc.F all played by members of the fifteen strong cast. Eli(abethan 8heatre, therefore, demanded that an actor be able to play numerous roles and ma'e it

obvious to the audience by changes in his acting style and costume that he !as a ne! person each time. %hen the same character came on disguised (as, for example, many of 5ha'espeareCs female characters disguise themselves as boys) speeches had to be included ma'ing it very clear that this !as the same character in a ne! costume, and not a completely ne! character. 0ll of the actors in an Eli(abethan 8heatre company !ere male. 8here !ere la!s in England against !omen acting onstage and English travellers abroad !ere amused and ama(ed by the strange customs of )ontinental European countries that allo!ed !omen to play female roles at least one Englishman recorded his surprise at finding that the female actors !ere as good at playing female parts as the male actors bac' home. ?ne !oman - /ary 6rith, better 'no!n as /oll )utpurse - !as arrested in the Aacobean period for singing and playing instruments onstage during a performance of a play about her life (/iddleton and e''erCs The oaring #irl) and some suggest that she may actually have been illegally playing herself in the performance, and !omen sometimes too' part in )ourt /as"ues (a very stylised and spectacular sort of performance for the )ourt, usually dominated by singing and dancing), but other!ise English !omen had no part in the performance of Eli(abethan plays. 8he male actors !ho played female parts have traditionally been described as E&oy 0ctorsF, but there is no! an academic controversy about exactly ho! old these actors !ould have been. 5ome academics are convinced that very young actors could not possibly have played such important, complex and emotionally difficult parts as 5ha'espeare and his fello! play!rights !rote for !omen, and argue that references to EmenF playing !omenCs parts prove that these actors !ere in fact fully gro!n adults. /y friend ave =athman, ho!ever, has researched this issue and points out that !henever !e 'no! or can guess the age of an actor !ho !as 'no!n to be playing a female part in a particular performance, that actor !as a teenager most bet!een the ages of roughly fourteen to nineteen. &ecause of differences in diet and upbringing, boysC voices bro'e much later in the Eli(abethan period than they do no!, !hich made it possible for boys to play !omenCs parts convincingly for much longer than some modern scholars assume possible. 8he rehearsal and performance schedule that Eli(abethan <layers follo!ed !as intense and demanding. Inli'e modern theatres, !here a successful play can run for years at a time, Eli(abethan theatres normally performed six different plays in their six day !ee', and a particularly successful play might only be repeated once a month or so. 8here !ere exceptions to this rule, such as /iddletonCs immensely successful Aacobean play $ #ame $t Chess !hich played for nine days in a ro! before being banned for political reasons, but runs of this 'ind !ere reserved for plays !hich !ere an immense success and !ere vie!ed as extremely unusual. In a typical season 9enslo!eCs )ompany performed thirty-eight different plays, t!enty-one of !hich !ere entirely ne! and seventeen of !hich had been performed in previous years. 8he Eli(abethan actor did not have much time, therefore, to prepare for each ne! play, and must have had to learn lines and prepare his bloc'ing largely on his o!n and in his spare time - probably helped by the tendency of !riters to have particular actors in mind for each part, and to !rite roles !hich !ere suited to the particular strengths and habits of individual actors. 8here !ere fe! formal rehearsals for each play and no e"uivalent of the modern irector (although presumably the !riter, theatre managers, and the most important actors - !ho o!ned shares in the theatre company - !ould have given some direction to other actors). Instead of being given full scripts, each actor had a !ritten EpartF, a long scroll !ith nothing more than his o!n lines and minimal cue lines (the lines spo'en by another actor 4ust before his o!n) to tell him !hen to spea' - this saved on the labourious tas' of copying out the full play repeatedly by hand. 8here !as a boo'holder or prompter !ho held a complete script and !ho helped actors !ho had forgotten their lines. 8he boo'holder usually also had a

EplotF or a brief summary of the play, scene by scene, listing the various entrances and exits and telling !hich characters and properties !ere re"uired upon the stage at any one time. 5urviving plots have a s"uare hole to allo! them to be hung upon a peg in the playhouse. %e 'no! little more about most Eli(abethan actors than their name, !hen this has happened to survive on theatrical records, in cast lists, or else!here - but there !ere a fe! star actors !ho have left a more detailed reputation behind them. 8he t!o most famous Eli(abethan actors normally played tragic and romantic heroes. 8hey !ere Ed!ard 0lleyn, lead actor of the 0dmiralCs /en, and Richard &urbage !ho !as the lead actor in 5ha'espeareCs )ompany (belonging at various times to 1eicester, 1ord 5trange, the 1ord )hamberlain and finally becoming - in the Aacobean period - the =ingCs /en). 0lleyn !as probably the most famous Eli(abethan actor, !ho !as best 'no!n for his performances in )hristopher /arlo!eCs plays - playing 8amburlaine a shepherd !ho became a mighty military leader and con"uered vast s!athes of territory, octor 6austus !ho made a pact !ith the devil, and &arabas the villainous Ae! in /arlo!eCs "e% of Malta. 0lleyn made so much money from his acting and his share in the theatre company to !hich he belonged that he !as able to buy the /anor of ul!ich on his retirement (costing J*H,HHH - an unbelievably huge sum of money at the time) and established ul!ich )ollege, !here the papers of his father-in-la!, the famous theatre manager <hilip 9enslo!e, !ere stored - the most important cache of theatrical documents to have survived the Eli(abethan period. Richard &urbage is no! probably better 'no!n than Ed!ard 0lleyn because of his connection !ith 5ha'espeare and he originated most of 5ha'espeareCs famous lead roles including Romeo, 9amlet, ?thello, Richard III, 9enry @, =ing 1ear and others. It is suggested that the contradictions in 5ha'espeareCs Hamlet, !here the lead character is apparently a young student at the beginning of the play but is referred to as EfatF and aged thirty to!ards the end of the play, !ere particularly added to suit the middle-aged and portly figure of &urbage himself. &urbage also became !ealthy on the profits of his profession, although not nearly so !ell off as 0lleyn. &oth !ere admired and remembered by numerous Eli(abethan !riters. 8he other actors to become household names !ere the )lo!ns or 6ools, and !e !ill consider them later. 8he income of actors varied enormously according to their position in the )ompany, and the type of )ompany to !hich they belonged. 8he least !ell paid actors !ere the boys, !ho !ere apprenticed to adult actors and !hose small !age (the 0dmiralCs /en paid one boy player three shillings a !ee') !as paid to their masters. In return they !ere given board and lodging and a very meagre allo!ance to spend on themselves. $ext lo!est in the acting hierarchy !ere the hired men, adult actors !ho !ere paid a fixed !age for each !or'ing day. 0ctors in 9enslo!eCs 1ondon )ompany received ten shillings a !ee', but those performing in smaller companies or touring outside 1ondon could receive half that. 8he most important actors in a theatre company, ho!ever, !ere ta'en on as sharers - o!ning a particular portion of the theatre company or its theatre building and subse"uently earning a proportion of the )ompanyCs profits from every performance. 5ha'espeare earned enough from his share in the 7lobe 8heatre to buy the second most expensive house in his home village of 5tratford and to invest in lands and property, and he !as also able to buy himself a coat of arms and the right to refer to himself as a 7entleman (an important step up the social ladder in class conscious Eli(abethan times).

.. 8he <lay!rights
uring the /iddle 0ges nobody is 'no!n !ho could be referred to as a professional English play!right. <ageants and )hurch plays !ere often !ritten by members of the )lergy and the

!riters of plays for touring companies !ere largely anonymous and fe! of their !or's have survived. In the 8udor period, and a little before it, men !ho earned their living as !riters and poets began to be recognisably connected !ith plays. 8he earliest professional play!right of !hom !e 'no! may have been 9enry /ed!all !ho !rote a /orality <lay and an Interlude, that survive, for performance in the house of his master, Aohn /orton, 0rchbishop of )anterbury. Aohn 9ey!ood, during the reign of 9enry @III, !rote a large number of Interludes for performance at the )ourt, but !hen Eli(abethCs reign began most plays !ere still !ritten by people !e !ould regard as amateurs or occasional play!rights. 8he increasing professionalism of the acting companies, ho!ever, meant that they increasingly needed to employ professional dramatists to provide them !ith the large and continually changing repertory that they re"uired. 8he first !ave of professional play!rights !ere mostly Iniversity educated men !ho earned a living from their pens. 8hese men !ere incredulous and envious !hen subse"uently confronted by less !ell educated play!rights such as 5ha'espeare, the son of a glover, !ho seems to have learned his s'ills as a member of the acting profession and became a !riter !ithout being educated in the great Iniversities, !ho became rich through his connection !ith the theatre !hile many of the better "ualified Iniversity play!rights lived and died in poverty, given only a fe! pounds for each of their plays. 5ha'espeare earned money as a 5harer in the 8heatre )ompany (given a proportion of the 8heatreCs profits for every production rather than 4ust a !age), a position that he probably gained largely because of his acting bac'ground. 8he form !hich Eli(abethan plays too' !as still developing at the beginning of Eli(abethCs reign. Eli(abethan Iniversities studied 7ree' and Roman plays in the original language, and the students sometimes performed them !ithin the Iniversity. uring Eli(abethCs reign translations of these 7ree' and Roman plays became !idely available and began to have a heavy influence upon English play!rights. 7ree' and Roman <lays !ere largely divided into t!o genres, )omedy and 8ragedy. 8he first full length English )omedy, !ritten in about *..-, !as alph oister Doister - !ritten by $icholas Idall, former headmaster of Eton - in !hich Ralph, a character based on the Roman ramatist <lautusC stereotypical &raggart, pursues a !ido! !ho is betrothed to an absent sea captain, until the !ido! finally drives him off !ith the help of her maids armed !ith mops and pails. 8he first full length English 8ragedy !as #orbo!uc - !ritten in *.3* by 8homas $orton and 8homas 5ac'ville - !hich tells the story of a mythical English =ing in a style in imitation of the Roman ramatist 5eneca, complete !ith choruses and long rhetorical speeches. #orbo!uc also influenced the later creation of a peculiarly English dramatic genre, not based on )lassical examples, the )hronicle or 9istory play !hich !as neither )omedy nor 8ragedy, but told the story of a genuine 9istorical period - usually the reign of a particular English /onarch. It is not 'no!n !hich !as the first English 9istory play, but early examples included 5ha'espeareCs Henry VI (eventually a trilogy of plays) and /arlo!eCs &!%ar! II. ?riginally English 8ragedies and )omedies tended to be !ritten in close imitation of 7ree' and Roman models and much !as made of the )lassical rules of !riting plays - rules !hich Renaissance !riters too' from 0ristotleCs <oetics and expanded upon. 8hese rules included the assumption that 8ragedy and )omedy should never mix and that a play should ta'e place according to the Inities of 8ime and <lace - meaning that the stage should represent a single place and all of the playCs action should ta'e place !ithin a single fictional day at most. 6ortunately English play!rights increasingly re4ected the restrictions of slavishly follo!ing )lassical models and began to !rite 8ragedies and )omedies in a much looser and more relaxed style. 8homas =ydCs The 'panish Trage!y, for example, a bloodthirsty tale of murder and revenge, generally ignored the )lassical rules and strongly influenced many subse"uent Eli(abethan plays including 5ha'espeareCs early Titus $n!ronicus and his later Hamlet (it is even suspected that 8homas =yd may have been the author of an early 9amlet play that existed before 5ha'espeareCs). It

also became traditional for comic characters to appear in even the most serious of 8ragedies, li'e the comic gravedigger in 5ha'espeareCs Hamlet. 0t the same time that the genres of English plays !ere becoming fixed and accepted, a particular form of dramatic poetry !as discovered to be ideal for dramatic composition. 8his !as blan' verse - first used in #orbo!uc. &lan' verse !as usually unrhymed (except for occasional couplets in significant places) and used ten syllables a line divided into five iambic feet of alternately unstressed and stressed syllables. 8he main advantage of blan' verse !as that despite being regular and poetical it could be made to sound very much li'e natural English speech. Early blan' verse !as very regular, !ith all sentences end-stopped (finishing exactly at the end of the blan' verse line) and !ith very little variation in the stresses and pauses in the lines. 0s time passed /arlo!e, 5ha'espeare and other dramatists began to use blan' verse in a much more flexible and inventive manner - allo!ing sentences to run from one line into the next and finish !herever in the line !as necessary, brea'ing the blan' verse rules !hen it suited them to allo! extra syllables in the line or irregular stresses and pauses. 7enerally spea'ing the later a blan' verse play !as !ritten the more natural its language sounds. 5ha'espeare and other Eli(abethan dramatists often used a mixture of blan' verse and prose, usually giving the unstructured prose (follo!ing no poetical rules and !ithout line endings) to their comical or rustic characters or those !ho for some other reason !ere considered more casual in their speech than the significant or serious characters !ho routinely spo'e verse. 8he ma4ority of Eli(abethan and Aacobean plays !ere !ritten in blan' verse after #orbo!uc, but some !ere !ritten in other forms, such as prose or rhyming couplets.

3. <olitics and Religion

Eli(abeth began her reign in a fast changing and dangerous period for the English nation. Eli(abethCs father, 9enry @III, had bro'en off from the )atholic )hurch and established the <rotestant )hurch of England. 0fter the death of 9enry and his sic'ly son Ed!ard the throne had passed on to Eli(abethCs older sister /ary, a )atholic - !ho had brought England bac' into the )hurch of Rome, and had married the firmly )atholic =ing of 5pain. %hen /ary died !ithout children the <rotestant Eli(abeth inherited the throne and England became a <rotestant $ation once more. Each stage in this process involved bloody trials and executions of those follo!ing the !rong religion - and Eli(abeth had to consider the fact that a large proportion of her population had been or still !as )atholic. %hile some )atholics continued their religion secretly and other!ise supported Eli(abeth, others !ere openly rebellious. Eli(abeth !as excommunicated by the <ope !ho encouraged all )atholic =ings and sub4ects to !or' to assassinate Eli(abeth and overthro! her regime. Eli(abeth managed to resist the $orthern Rebellion - !here )atholic 1ords and sub4ects in the $orth rose up against her - and escaped a number of planned assassination attempts. 5he also fought off the 5panish 0rmada, an invasion force blessed by the <ope. In times such as these, plays, !hich gathered huge cro!ds and exposed them to a particular vie! of the !orld - !hich could be an excellent form of propaganda - !ere vie!ed !ith a great deal of concern. 8his is hardly surprising since a single performance at a playhouse could attract -HHH spectators !hen the population of 1ondon !as only DHH,HHH. 8his meant that one and a half percent of the 1ondon population !ere gathered in one place and exposed to the same influence at every performance - enough people to begin a riot or even a rebellion. 8o protect against these threats, the Eli(abethan authorities imposed a range of la!s and systems to ensure that they could control 4ust about every !ord that !as spo'en

onstage. 8he official in charge of this control !as the 1ord )hamberlain, but most of the real !or' !as carried out by his subordinate, the /aster of the Revels. &efore the performance of any play, the script had to be submitted to the Revels ?ffice for chec'ing and the /aster of the Revels made any alterations in the script that he felt necessary - ma'ing sure that the play remained morally and politically safe and did not trespass into religious matters or use inappropriate blasphemies. 8he punishments for !riters !hose !or's !ere felt to be seditious or offensive could be extreme, including imprisonment, torture and mutilation - but in fact the Eli(abethan )ensors !ere more lenient than is sometimes suggested and did not come do!n heavily on many actors or dramatists during this period. ?ne of the ma4or incidents of suppression during the Eli(abethan period !as prompted by the production of 8homas $ashe and &en AonsonCs The Isle of Dogs. 8he exact content of this play is not 'no!n, as it !as ruthlessly suppressed and never printed, but it has been suggested that it may have been a satirical attac' on Eli(abethCs courtiers. 0fter the play had been performed in *.G,, the players - <embro'eCs /en - and the play!right &en Aonson !ere arrested and imprisoned !hile 8homas $ashe fled to #armouth. $asheCs house !as searched for papers and Aonson !as "uestioned and then secretly imprisoned !ith t!o informers !ho encouraged him to betray himself to them. 8he <rivy )ouncil !as so outraged by the performance that it !ent as far as to ban all plays in 1ondon and its surroundings for much of the rest of the year. 0fter having failed to incriminate himself, ho!ever, Aonson !as released and his imprisonment did not damage his future reputation or prospects in any significant !ay. 0nother ma4or scandal involved 5ha'espeareCs ichar! II, a performance of !hich !as specially commissioned by follo!ers of the Earl of Essex, !ho - un'no!n to the <layers !ere planning to stir up support in 1ondon for a rebellion against Eli(abeth the follo!ing day. 8he Earl, !ho had lost the KueenCs favour and been discredited, led a small band of armed follo!ers through 1ondon !ith the intention of capturing the Kueen, but they !ere not supported by the 1ondon populace and the rebellion failed. 8he reason for choosing the play !as that it sho!ed the decline and fall of Richard II, a !ea' =ing closely connected to corrupt favourites, !ho !as overthro!n by a rebellion led by the Earl of &olingbro'e !ho had the =ing murdered and too' his cro!n. Eli(abeth !as vastly upset by the rebellion and particularly commented upon the attempts to compare her to the corrupt and successfully overthro!n Richard II of the play. EI am Richard II, 'no! you not thatLF she told 6rancis &acon and complained E8his tragedy has been played forty times in open streets and housesF. 0ugustine <hillips, one of the leading actors of 5ha'espeareCs )ompany, !as called in and interrogated about the actorsC role in the affair, but he maintained that they had 'no!n nothing about any seditious intent and that they had simply been encouraged to reprise an old play - so old that they didnCt expect much of an audience - and had been paid ten shillings over the ordinary to perform it. 8he authorities treated the actors leniently and no punishment seems to have been forthcoming. ?n the day before Essex !as executed 5ha'espeareCs )ompany, perhaps as a sign of forgiveness, !as invited to perform before the Kueen. /ore typical of the censorship of Eli(abethan plays !as the suppression of 'ir Thomas More - a play !hich !as !ritten and then amended by a large group of different play!rights, possibly including 5ha'espeare - !ho may have !ritten scenes in his o!n hand!riting in the manuscript. It !as an odd choice of a sub4ect for a play, since 8homas /ore !as a )atholic /artyr !ho had been executed by Eli(abethCs father for opposing his divorce and establishment of the )hurch of England. 8he /aster of the Revels disli'ed many of the scenes !ithin the play and sent it bac' repeatedly for alterations - particularly to a scene in !hich /ore tal'ed !ith poor rioters, !hich !as seen as particularly dangerous in its

presentation of /ore himself and its dangerous sympathy !ith rebellious poor people !ho opposed the 8udor regime. espite many such alterations the play !as never considered acceptable and so !as never granted a licence to be performed or published. %e 'no! the play only because the original manuscript survives.

,. )ostume, 5cenery and Effects

5ome modern companies consider the Eli(abethan performance style to have been very close to !hat !e no! call /inimalism. )ompanies li'e the 5henandoah 5ha'espeare Express claim to be closer to the original Eli(abethan performance style because they perform in modern dress, !ith no scenery and fe! props, and !ithout using modern lighting, sound or stage effects. 0lthough /inimalist performances of this 'ind may be closer to the Eli(abethan originals than, for example, the spectacular @ictorian performances of 5ha'espeareCs plays (!ith detailed painted bac'drops and archaeologically correct costumes and stage designs, and sometimes even real horses, real boats and real canals) they are still very far from Eli(abethan performances. In reality the Eli(abethans used far more sophisticated props, costumes and stage effects than is sometimes assumed. Eli(abethan costuming seems to have been a strange combination of !hat !as (for the Eli(abethans) modern dress, and costumes !hich - !hile not being genuinely historically or culturally accurate - had a historical or foreign flavour. 0 famous picture of a performance of 5ha'espeareCs Titus $n!ronicus (one of the fe! pictures of Eli(abethan actors at !or') sho!s 8itus in a breastplate and a supposedly historical garment, very loosely based on the Roman toga, !hile one of his guards (in a play set in Roman times) !ears the familiar armour of an Eli(abethan soldier and another !ears a foreign loo'ing, possibly 8ur'ish influenced, suit of armour. /any of the authentic Eli(abethan garments o!ned by a 8heatre )ompany had been passed onto them, secondhand, by members of the nobility. 5trict la!s !ere in force about !hat materials and types of clothes could be !orn by members of each social class - la!s !hich the actors !ere allo!ed to brea' onstage - so it !ould be immediately obvious to the Eli(abethan audience that actors !earing particular types of clothes !ere playing people of particular bac'grounds and types. Extensive ma'e-up !as almost certainly used, particularly for the boys playing female parts and !ith dar' ma'e-up on the face and hands for actors playing Eblac'amoorsF or E8ur'sF. 8here !ere also conventions for playing a number of roles - some of !hich !e 'no! from printed play scripts. /ad !omen, li'e ?phelia, !ore their hair loose and mad people of both sexes had disordered clothing. $ight scenes !ere often signalled by characters !earing nightdresses (even the 7host of 9amletCs father appears in his nightgo!n, !hen 9amlet is tal'ing !ith his /other in her chamber). 8he Eli(abethans did not use fixed scenery or painted bac'drops of the sort that became popular in the @ictorian period, but those !ho claim that the Eli(abethans performed on a completely bare stage are !rong. 0 !ide variety of furniture and props !ere brought onstage to set the scene as necessary - ranging from simple beds, tables, chairs and thrones to !hole trees, grassy ban's, prop dragons, an unpleasant loo'ing cave to represent the mouth of hell, and so forth. 5uch props often played a ma4or part in the play, as in The 'panish Trage!y !here a man is spectacularly hanged by the nec' from an arbour, apparently a complex !ooden frame !ith a bench and leaves - a scene illustrated in a published copy of the play. eath brought out a particular ingenuity in Eli(abethan actors and they apparently used copious "uantities of animal blood, fa'e heads and tables !ith holes in to stage decapitations

(an illustration of an Eli(abethan con4uring tric' sho!s a table !ith t!o holes in it, one boy sitting hidden under the table !ith only his - apparently decapitated - head above it another lying on the top of the table !ith his - apparently missing - head hidden belo! it> tric's of this 'ind !ere almost certainly used on the Eli(abethan stage). 9eads, hands, eyes, tongues and limbs !ere dramatically cut off onstage, and probably involved some sort of blooddrenched stage tric'. 0 number of other simple special effects !ere used. Real cannons and pistols (loaded !ith po!der but no bullet) !ere fired off !hen ceremonial salutes or battles !ere re"uired. 8hunder !as imitated by rolling large metal cannon balls bac'stage or by drumming, !hile lightning !as imitated by fire!or's set off in the EheavensF above the stage. 5ha'espeareCs $ (inter)s Tale calls for a man to be pursued across the stage by a bear and there is much academic argument about !hether a real (tame) bear !ould have been used or !hether it !ould have been a man in a bear costume (probably a real bear s'in). 5ome plays bring dogs onstage, although it has been suggested that 5ha'espeare only once used a dog in his plays because the animal proved to be more trouble than it !as !orth. ?ne thing that Eli(abethan theatres almost completely lac'ed !as lighting effects. In the outdoor theatres, li'e the 7lobe, plays !ere performed from t!o oCcloc' until about four or four thirty in the afternoon (these !ere the times fixed by la!, but plays may sometimes have run for longer) in order to ta'e advantage of the best daylight (earlier or later performances !ould have cast distracting shado!s onto the stage). Evening performances, !ithout daylight, !ere impossible. In the hall theatres, on the other hand, the stages !ere lit by candlelight - !hich forced them to hold occasional, probably musical, brea's !hile the candles !ere trimmed and tended or replaced as they burned do!n. Eli(abethan actors carried flaming torches to indicate that a scene !as ta'ing place at night, but this !ould have made little difference to the actual lighting of the stage, and spectators simply had to use their imagination. 8he nearest that the Eli(abethans came to lighting effects !ere fire!or's, used to imitate lightening or magical effects - the devils in /arlo!eCs Doctor Faustus apparently cavorted around the stage !ith s"uibs, small exploding fire!or's, held in their mouths.

2. <erformance 8echni"ues
%e 'no! very little, unfortunately, about ho! Eli(abethan actors actually played their roles. <erformances probably ran continuously !ithout any sort of interval or 0ct &rea's. ?ccasionally music may have been played bet!een 0cts or certain scenes, but scholars thin' this !as "uite unusual except in the hall playhouses, !here candles had to be trimmed and replaced bet!een 0cts. %e do not even 'no! ho! long Eli(abethan plays usually ran. 8he la! (mentioned above) expected plays to last bet!een t!o and t!o and a half hours, and 5ha'espeare tal's about Ethe t!o hours traffic of our stageF in omeo an! "uliet, but some plays - such as Hamlet, !hich in modern times runs for more than four hours - seem much too long to have been performed in such a short time. It is possible that the scripts !hich have been passed do!n to us are the play!rightCs first draft and that they !ould have been cut considerably for performance. It is also possible that Eli(abethan actors performed at a much faster speed than modern actors !ithout so many pauses and !ithout spea'ing slo!ly for emphasis. %hat props and scenery there !ere in the Eli(abethan 8heatre !ere probably carried on and off !hile the scenes continued, !hich means that there !ould have been no need to !ait for scene changes - something !hich could double the length of a spectacular @ictorian performance.

5ome idea of the sort of hand gestures that an Eli(abethan actor may have used may have been preserved in a peculiar boo' called Chirologia or the *aturall Language of the Han!. 8his !as supposed to explain hand gestures used to sho! emotions or give emphasis in normal conversation rather than in stage performance, but if gestures of this 'ind !ere used offstage then they !ere almost certainly used on it as !ell. 5ome of the gestures seem very odd and extravagant to modern eyes, but may !ell have seemed perfectly natural to an Eli(abethan. 0nother aspect of Eli(abethan performance that !e 'no! a little about !as the use of clo!ns or fools. 5ha'espeare complains in Hamlet about the fact that the fool often spo'e a great deal that !as not included in his script, and in the early Eli(abethan period especially it seems to have been normal for the fool to include a great deal of improvised repartee and 4o'es in his performance, especially responding to hec'lers in the audience. 0t the end of the play the Eli(abethan actors often danced, and sometimes the fool and other comic actors !ould perform a 4ig - !hich could be anything from a simple ballad to a "uite complicated musical play, normally a farce involving adultery and other ba!dy topics. 5ome time !as apparently put aside for the fool to respond to challenges from the audience - !ith spectators inventing rhymes and challenging the fool to complete them, as'ing riddles and "uestions and demanding !itty ans!ers, or simply arguing and criticising the fool so that he could respond. ?ne of the famous clo!n 8arltonCs 4o'es, for example, !as given in response to a !oman in the audience threatening to cuff him. 5he should only reverse the spelling of the !ord, he told her, and she could have her !ill immediately. It has been suggested that the first fool in 5ha'espeareCs company - %illiam =empe - !as famous for improvisational humour of this 'ind and for re4ecting 5ha'espeareCs scripts in order to ma'e his o!n 4ests, and that his replacement Robert 0rmin may have been more of an actor and less of an improvisational comedian, respecting the !ords that 5ha'espeare had set do!n for him. <erformances by modern actors at the reconstructed 7lobe have given us some insight into aspects of performance on a stage of this 'ind !hich may help us to reconstruct the behaviour of Eli(abethan actors, but may sometimes be misleading - since the modern 7lobe actors are a D*st )entury company performing for D*st )entury audiences. /odern 7lobe actors have found the 7lobe to be an excellent performing space !hich actors find very appealing, but it is also very different from the modern stages that they are used to and re"uires a very different style of performance to ma'e use of the theatres strengths and alleviate its !ea'nesses. )ompanies performing on the 7lobe stage have to ta'e into account the strange positioning of the audience. 8he 7lobe seating almost completely surrounds the stage, !ith audience members at the extreme ends of the circle almost behind the upstage corners of the stage and loo'ing at the action from the bac' for!ards - and !ith the vie!s of all parts of the audience occasionally bloc'ed by the obtrusive stage pillars. 8he modern 7lobe irectors have found that, as a result, they need to 'eep their actors in constant motion. 8hey also need to have actors facing in as many different directions as possible during a scene. %hen I !ent to see King Lear this 5ummer I !as surprised to find that despite sitting in the !orst position, at the most extreme upstage left corner of the stage, behind the actors, I !as al!ays able to see at least one actorCs face throughout the performance and !as therefore included in the playCs action and not frustrated by seeing only bac's. 8he actors also found that even !hen conversing privately the 7lobe stage encouraged them to stand at a distance from one another, in a long diagonal, rather than standing close together as they !ould on a more intimate modern stage. 5imilarly !hile modern stages encourage actors giving solilo"uies to step to do!nstage centre and address the audience, the more po!erful positions on the 7lobe

stage turned out to be in the front corners of the stage rather than do!nstage centre, or best of all upstage centre - !hich turned out to be the most po!erful position on the stage. &efore performing on the stage it had been assumed that the actors !ould need to use big voices and broad gestures, but they found that clarity of speech and movement !as more important than volume or si(e, and much more subtle acting !as possible. 8he acoustics of the stage (once all of the genuine oa' had been installed) turned out to be excellent, although actors tended to mis4udge the effect of their o!n voices at first and !ere tric'ed into shouting !hen they didnCt need to. ?ddly, !hen casting male actors to play the female role of <rincess =atherine in Henry V, the 7lobe casting directors felt that teenage actorsC voices didnCt carry !ell in the 7lobe space and selected an actor in his early t!enties. 8he historical records seem to sho! that the same vie! !as not held in 5ha'espeareCs day since ave =athmanCs research suggests that teenage boy actors !ere the norm. 8he modern 7lobe staff !ere very satisfied by audience reactions to the cross-dressing boy actor, ho!ever. 5ome failed to realise that the actor !as male and apart from 'no!ing laughs at lines about being a !oman, the audience seemed able to suspend its disbelief and vie! the character as a normal and convincing female even !hen the actor !as not. $aturally, the set up of the 7lobe encourages intimacy !ith the audience and it has been found that 7lobe audiences are enthusiastic to ta'e part in the production in !ays that the actors sometimes find distracting. 8his may in part be explained by the atmosphere of the 7lobe itself - the 7lobeCs 0rtistic irector actively encouraged audiences to shout bac' at the actors before the first performance !as given - but it is also probably explained by the great visibility of the 7lobe audience. %ith no modern stage lighting to enhance the actors and put the audience into dar'ness, 7lobe audience members can see each other exactly as !ell as they can see the performers and the 7roundlings in particular are near enough to the stage to be able to touch the actors if they !anted to and the front ro! of the 7roundlings routinely lean their arms and heads onto the front of the stage itself. 8he 7roundlings are also forced to stand for t!o or three hours !ithout much movement, !hich encourages short attention spans and a desire to ta'e action rather than remain completely immobile. 8his means that the 7roundlings fre"uently shout up at the actors or hiss the villains and cheer the goodies. uring King Lear the audience !ere "uic' to offer their advice !hen Edmund (7loucesterCs bastard son) as'ed himself !hich of 1earCs competing daughters he should accept as his lover. Eli(abethan audiences seem to have been very responsive in this !ay - as their interactions !ith the 6ool suggests - and !ere particularly !ell 'no!n for hurling nut shells and fruit !hen they disli'ed an actor or a performance. 8he Eli(abethan audience !as still more distracted, ho!ever, since beer and food !ere being sold and consumed throughout the performance, prostitutes !ere actively soliciting for trade, and pic'poc'ets !ere busy stealing goods as the play progressed. It is important to remember, ho!ever, that the opinions of modern actors may bear little relationship to the !ay in !hich Eli(abethan actors vie!ed their stage and gave their performances. ?ne hint that Eli(abethan audiences may have vie!ed plays very differently gave us the origin of the !ord EaudienceF itself. 8he Eli(abethans did not spea' of going to see a play, they !ent to hear one - and it is possible that in the densely cro!ded theatre obstructed by the pillars and the extravagant headgear that richer members of the audience !ere !earing - the Eli(abethan audience !as more concerned to hear the !ords spo'en than to be able to see the action. 8his idea is given extra !eight by the fact that in the public outdoor theatres, li'e the 7lobe, the most expensive seats !ere not the ones !ith the best vie!s (in fact the best vie! is to be had by the 7roundlings, standing directly in front of the

stage), but those !hich !ere most easily seen by other audience members. 8he most expensive seating !as in the 1ordCs box or balcony behind the stage - loo'ing at the action from behind - and other!ise the higher the seats the more an audience member had to pay (a seat in the 1ordCs Room cost one shilling or t!elve pence, a seat in a 7entlemanCs Room cost sixpence, a seat in the galleries cost t!opence and it cost only a penny to stand in the pit) . 5ome Eli(abethan documents suggest that the reason for this range of prices !as the richer patronCs desire to be as far from the stin' of the 7roundlings as possible. 5ee http>BBsha'espearean.org.u'Beli(thea*.htm